The Kindness of Strangers
by Luciferian Principle
Summary: AUish story. A starving Charlie happens upon a man who offers relief with treats, but for a price. Wonka x Charlie, slash.


**The Kindness of Strangers**  
Author: Lucifer  
Summary: AU-ish. A starving Charlie happens upon a man who offers relief with treats, but for a price. For Sweetphaex's challenge on WonkaSlash (www (dot) livejournal (dot) com (slash) community (slash) wonkaslash).  
Rating: R  
Characters: Wonka/Charlie

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Chapter 1  
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Every year as fall began its process into winter, Charlie Bucket would spend more time outside. It wasn't because he liked the cold weather, he didn't like it at all, but he always felt a need to say goodbye to the summer somehow. Every day he'd come home from school only to rush back out again and check that the leaves were still on the trees. They were changing all sorts of colors now, some beginning to fall off. There was an expression his mother used from time to time that a watched pot will never boil, and he felt that maybe if he was always there to watch the trees, they would never change, and winter might never come. This was rather hopeless, he knew, so instead he told himself he was just going out to see them one last time, even if he secretly felt he was watching a pot of leaves. It wasn't as though staying inside the house would keep him much warmer anyway.

His two favorite places to visit were Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, and the park only a few blocks from his home. Since it was difficult to loiter outside the factory gates, there were often people walking by and no places to sit, he resigned to only stopping there before and after school for a short time. The park however provided many open areas to walk and sit in, and he could still see the factory looming over its trees if he wished. He could stay there for much longer periods of time, even find places to play or people to talk to every now and then on a good day.

Most of all, it simply helped him forget about being hungry.

During the summer people sometimes brought loaves of bread to feed the birds and if Charlie was polite and friendly, they'd invite him to join in. He'd admit that whatever they gave him didn't usually go to the birds. Picnickers however, were torture. They were usually off in their own worlds, and since there was no pretense of joining in on any game they were playing, as with pigeon-feeders, Charlie felt horrible about asking them for hand outs. He avoided them whenever possible.

As winter neared, the number of park visitors dwindled quickly, and soon Charlie would be wishing even to see the picnickers out if he could. He liked watching the people best of all. A full park almost fended the hunger away better than an empty one and a slice of toast it seemed.

Today as he headed down the street, he was almost sure he'd find no one out and about. It was getting colder every day, and this week was the coldest yet. His mum had seemed worried when he came home earlier. She hadn't said anything out of the ordinary, but he could tell somehow. He noticed she hadn't started the stew yet, and the grandparents had been rather quiet as well. He thought perhaps they were beginning to mourn the loss of summer just as he was.

Stopping at the chocolate factory was glorious torture as it always was. Sometimes he'd walk with his eyes cast down on the sidewalk, allowing himself to guess how close he was by the aroma alone. There were times when he'd imagine it before he could actually smell it. Today he pressed his forehead to the gates and wondered if this was the closest he'd ever been to the place. If he stuck his arm through he'd be even closer, so he did. He found he could almost get his whole shoulder through too, and idly wondered that if he didn't eat for a few more days he might be able to slip through them completely. He imagined himself running up to the factory doors, being the only person ever to get past the gates, and finally meeting the famous Willy Wonka who would of course have heaps of food waiting for them all, and inside the factory it would be like summer.

Charlie let himself imagine this scene a while longer, until he began to hear people passing behind him now and again and he felt it was time to move on before anyone got curious about what he was doing.

The park was quiet, as he'd expected. He sighed. When you were exposed to extreme temperatures, and often cold all the time, having been so almost all your life, you sort of got used to it; it was a fact of life. Charlie didn't think about it very often, especially because it usually wasn't as noticeable as the hunger, but when little disappointments like this occurred, it would sneak up and get to him. He pulled his sweater and jacket tighter around himself, and tucked his hands under his arms. He could still enjoy being outside on his own. The squirrels were often out at this time of year anyway, frantically gathering nuts for the coming season. When he was younger, Charlie once wondered if he could eat the nuts like those squirrels did, but it didn't turn out to be a very productive experiment.

He headed up and down the paths, trying to let his mind rest and think about simple things. A thin layer of clouds was beginning to gather over the sky, bringing a slightly murky quality with it. Charlie thought that it might be a herald of dusk coming, so he decided to make his way home. As he neared the park's exit however, he noticed something quite delightfully unexpected. A lone man had come to visit the park. He was dressed rather old fashioned-like, with even an old top hat, and had been wandering lazily down the opposite path when Charlie first spotted him. Now he sat himself down on a nearby bench, facing away from the boy, reaching his arms out, spreading them over the back of his seat , and looking quite relaxed. Charlie almost wondered if he intended to take a nap there. As he neared though he could see the man was fully awake and seemed only to be watching the trees and sky above him. When Charlie got close enough, he twisted his head lazily around and smiled at the boy. He looked kind of odd, though Charlie couldn't exactly explain it, perhaps it was his swishy hair or perfectly white teeth, but his smile seemed inviting.

Charlie smiled back and nodded his head to the man. "How do you do?" he said politely.

"Well hello there." he responded with a grin. "Quite a lovely day isn't it?"

Charlie slowed his pace upon sensing the man might actually talk with him a little. "Yes it is. A little chilly though."

"Chilly? Oh yes, I suppose it is. But," the man leaned forward a little, "there's always ways around that."

"Oh?" Charlie was now rather curious. Besides his fascinating appearance, this man seemed friendly.

"Lots of ways," he said, turning around almost completely to face the boy and resting his arms together on the bench. Charlie noticed he held a long glass cane in one of them that appeared to be filled with tiny colorful beads.

Charlie watched the man for a while longer, waiting for him to continue, until his eyes and imploring smile forced Charlie to take the initiative.

"What kind of ways?"

"Weeeellll…." The strange man lifted his gaze to the trees, as if pondering the question. "Chocolate, for one."

Charlie the corners of his mouth tug in return. "If only there were an endless supply of it, no one would ever be cold," he added in agreeance.

"Nor hungry," the man said offhandedly and Charlie could feel his stomach lurch at the words. His mind had thus been pleasantly avoiding that subject. "But anyway, it just so happens that today I seem to have a bit more than I know what to do with at the moment…." he went on.

For a moment Charlie was puzzled, until the man reached into his pocket and pulled out several candy bars. "They fill up pockets like crazy…." Just then he looked up at Charlie, a very sorrowful look plastered onto his expressive features. Charlie knew he must be gawking at this point because the stranger's eyes lit up. "Hey, I have an idea. Would you like to have some with me? I bet it'd chase the cold right away."

Charlie couldn't believe his good fortune. Although his parents sometimes warned of taking things from strange people, they perhaps did not do it as much as other parents did, for they had faith in Charlie, and knew that sometimes, especially for them, it was almost necessary to not turn down a gift. On the other hand, Charlie often felt he shouldn't tell his family how many times he went searching for people who might share what they had with him. Many times he didn't even realize he was doing it until he looked back. Now, however, with only the slightest bit of hesitation, he felt no danger in agreeing to this man's offer, so he let himself smile and walk around the bench, sitting next to his new friend and accepting graciously.

Willy Wonka's Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight, the largest bar read. "This is the best chocolate in the world," Charlie said, more to himself than to the man who had just given him the gift.

As if saying he agreed completely, Charlie's new friend let out a short laugh of excitement. "Go on," he added encouragingly, perhaps sensing the boy's reverence toward the candy.

They sat there for some time, eating candy and enjoying the park. Occasionally Charlie would glance at the man and catch him glancing back as well, and then they would giggle softly. By the time Charlie figured he ought to get home, he felt very content with this new person. At first he wasn't quite sure how to say goodbye; that is, whether he should say 'goodbye' or more like a 'see you later'. He felt he didn't want to say 'goodbye', so he settled upon "I should probably get home, mom will be expecting me soon."

He stood slowly, stretching a little, stalling for time, hoping the man might say something other than "alright then, it was nice meeting you". He got his wish, for the man stopped him before he could leave. "Hold on just a minute." Charlie paused, and the man sat up straighter, bringing his cane down in front of him to rest his weight on as he talked with the boy. "What's yer name?" he asked, and when Charlie answered, he smiled in delight. "Now, hold out your hands, like this," he said while making a cupping motion with both of his hands "and close your eyes, and I'll give you another treat."

Charlie laughed a little at the assumed silliness of his request, and for a moment he hesitated, but then did as instructed. A soft scraping noise he heard first, then what sounded like hundreds of rain droplets landing on dry concrete all at once, and then a soft footstep in front of him. At the same moment he felt lots of tiny somethings fall into his outstretched hands, Charlie heard a voice whisper in his ear, and felt the brush of hair on his cheek. "Have these and they'll bring you good luck."

When he opened his eyes the man was standing in front of him, no longer inclined in the slightest as he must have been a moment ago to whisper in Charlie's ear. The boy looked into his hands and saw that they were now filled with what were not beads, but small colorful candies that he recognized had come from the cane the man carried with him. "Thank you," he said reverently, folding his hands together around the pebble-size candies. That soft smile was his only response. "Will I ever see you again?" Charlie asked finally, and watched the man's soft smile reach his eyes.

"If you want to," he answered.

"Yes," Charlie said. A tip of the man's hat was what Charlie received as a farewell, and with that he finally brought his feet to move in the direction of home.

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To be continued.


End file.
